The Weekend Links

Everyone is getting tired of year-end lists I know, but this one is worth it. Truly stunning, and mostly heartbreaking, Boston.com has compiled some of its very best photos from 2009 into a 3-part post that reminds you of the good and bad of this past year, and best of all ... no Jon and Kate.
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If all these year-end lists have you thinking you know just about everything there is to know about 2009, take this quiz and find out! (much harder than I was expecting!)
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From Hannah, a video of an improv group that holds a quick bell choir performance with a Salvation Army bell ringer. Isn't that better than just the high-pitched tinkling?
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You may be familiar with the phrases "snafu" or "son of a gun," but did you know that these and other phrases originated on the battlefield? That's the scuttlebutt, anyway!
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I should have only picked one, but I just couldn't. I found several related links full of amazing pictures, so in the spirit of giving, I am giving you all three! The first showcases 8 Showy Snow Sculptures, followed by some Extreme Christmas Decorations, and then rounding out the list are 9 Gorgeous Gingerbread Creations. May this motivate someone to achieve holiday greatness this year in one of these categories (if you do, send a pic!)
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Have yourself a ... creepy little Christmas? Revisiting some of the lyrics of popular Christmas songs.
*10 notable mustaches and the men behind them. My trusted mustache connoisseur friend Pat says of this list, "well there are a lot of fantastic mustaches left out, but this list does include Nietzsche, so I feel it's legit."
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A recent Vanity Fair article explored our growing cultural addiction toward the cute, and its downsides. I'm sure website like this one of tiny cute baby animals doesn't help, BUT ...

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If you need to learn how to communicate with your tween cousin during family time during the holidays, you may need the aid of this English-to-12-Year-Old-AOLer Translator. To give you an example, I put in the Shakespeare quote, "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool," which translated to "A FOL THINKS HIMS3LF 2 B WIES BUT A WIES MAN KNOWS HIMS3LF 2 B A FOL!!!1111" Scary, no?
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In other translation news and views, check out this "English" song sung by Italians. It's complete gibberish (but then again, so are so many songs), but it's meant to convey our phonetic sounds. The results are intriguing to say the least!
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If you are suddenly filled with patriotic pride, check out this very cool USA heart featuring all the states (they're all there, right? Did anyone count?)
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You may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but maybe not a white bridal gown. Here are some inspired weddings full of color to prove that not all successful bridal gowns must be white. (I would however avoid the scarlet red ones ... that just seems to send such a wrong message ...!)
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For those looking for motivation to exercise more regularly in the winter months, see how you measure up to Modern Fitness Standards for jobs like firefighters and police officers, and even on up in difficulty to marines (if you dare!)
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Forget Not Where Thy Petrol Floweth From! A funny and somewhat though provoking cartoon.
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Twitter is occasionally used for good, but more often than not it's used for nonsense. In one of the most ultimate examples, a best man at a wedding pulls a prank that rigs up his friend's honeymoon mattress to tweet the, er, consummation. Pretty funny stuff, although undoubtedly horrifying for the couple!
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I am a big fan of re-purposing, so I particularly like this simple tutorial on how to turn a shirt into a skirt (this is also handy for the Walk of Shame crowd).
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Some of those images of the Google logo on the Google homepage don't always look a lot like, well, Google. Here's a gallery of some of the most obscure drawings of the logo to date.
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Finally, from Flossy reader Doug, "this is a Christmas related musical I made for my family last year. I do one every year." I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, so I give it all to you. It clearly took a lot of time, this I know for sure!
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Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week - in the spirit of giving, give me some links! Send them along to FlossyLinks@gmail.com. Stay warm!